Loeb gets his X Games DS3 XL ready

For people who were cursing me to publish a complete french speaking Loeb in the earlier news post [live], here is something you would like to know.. Loeb is going to get an all new breed of DS3 WRC for one shot Global RallyCross event during WRC mid-season break in Los Angeles, USA.

Loeb says that he actually was impressed by the video invitation from Travis Pastrana and was excited by the idea. With this invitation formalised with the team principal Yves Matton, Citroen Racing Director, the challenge was accepted.

With the formal confirmation from Citroen Racing, Sebastien Loeb will be present on the X-Games in Los Angeles! June 28 to July 1. However the challenge is not going to be small to the World Rally champion as he would be confronting the existing experienced squad of stars of its discipline. Pastrana in mind - but also some Marcus Gronholm. This will be a new experience for Loeb saying, "I love competing and I'm always curious about new disciplines," he confirms. "A week after the arrival of Rally New Zealand, so I will be in Los Angeles to meet the challenge for me was started by Travis! The rallycross as we have in Europe is very dramatic and declination U.S. seems even more extreme. The prospect of driving a Citroen DS3 545ch door against door with opponents of the caliber of Marcus Gronholm can only motivate me! "

Beware, if Loeb is new at this, it is not a man to cross the ocean to play second fiddle! "Once the project is actually launched, we have prepared with the utmost seriousness," said Yves Matton, Citroen Racing Director. "Since this is a one shot, we will not need to think about managing a championship position. There is only one race and we're determined to try to win. It will not be easy because we have everything to discover facing opponents well established in this type of competition, but we will fight from first to last meter! " To confront the specialists Global Rallycross overseas, the World Rally champion will take the wheel of a Citroen DS3 XL (like X-Games and Loeb!), Evolution of the DS3 designed specifically for the event, he was able to test in Dreux. "With four-wheel drive and power, the DS3 pushing very hard! We took advantage of these trials to test different settings, "he says. "But we know that the American circuits are very different and therefore we must quickly adapt the car to the conditions. " "From a distance, the DS3 rallycross resembles the WRC," said Cyrille Jourdan, project engineer in charge of Citroën Racing. "If the design of the chassis and running gear is quite similar, the mechanics are fundamentally different. The two-liter turbo engine of the DS3 XL swells whopping 545ps of power and develops 800 Nm of torque, reminding us the GroupB era. Acceleration is worthy of an F1, with 0 to 100 km / h shot in 2'' 4! " "The radiator is moved to the trunk," says Cyril Jourdan, this DS3 rallycross being devoid of spare wheels ... and copilot. "The main visual difference between the WRC and the XL is also the addition of ventilation slots in the rear fenders.

This optimization aims to achieve the best performance at the start, the most crucial phase in rallycross. " One of five rounds of the Global Rallycross Championship (GRC), the X-Games in Los Angeles will be played at the Gilbert Lindsay Plaza, a circuit which includes occasional bitumen and loose soil, while providing a jump of 20m suitable for powering the show.